Syllabus

Psychology 430 - History and Philosophy of Psychology

9:00-9:55 MWF

Professor Shaffer

Spring 2000

Required Text: Schultz, D. & Schultz, S. (1996). A history of modern psychology (sixth edition). Harcourt Brace College Publishers.

Course Objectives - To learn how physiological discoveries and philosophical thought helped to shape psychology as a discipline. To examine the beginnings, development, and contributions of various schools of thought, including structuralism, functionalism, behaviorism, Gestalt psychology, and psychoanalysis.

Course Outline

Ch. 1 - The Study of the History of Psychology

Ch. 2 - Philosophical Influences on Psychology

Ch. 3 - Physiological Influences on Psychology

Ch. 4 - The New Psychology

Exam #1

Ch. 5 - Structuralism

Ch. 6 - Functionalism: Antecedent Influences

Ch. 7 - Functionalism; Development and Founding

Ch. 8 - Functionalism’s Legacy: Applied Psychology

Exam #2

Ch. 9 - Behaviorism: Antecedent Influences

Ch. 10 - Behaviorism: The Beginnings

Ch. 11 - Behaviorism: After the Founding

Exam #3

Ch. 12 - Gestalt psychology

Ch. 13 - Psychoanalysis: The Beginnings

Ch. 14 - Psychoanalysis: Dissenters and Descendants

Grade - Your grade will be based upon three exams, (100 points each), a comprehensive final exam (150 points), an 8-10 page paper and five minute oral presentation on an important contributor to the history of psychology (70 points for the paper and 30 points for the oral report), and extra credit opportunities (5-10 points each for a maximum of 50 points). The final exam will be comprehensive in nature, although chapters 12-14 will be emphasized. It will be given from 3:30-5:30 PM on Thursday, May 4th.

Helpful Internet Sites

www.britannica.com (Encyclopedia Britannica)

ericir.syr.edu/ERIC/ (contains a search engine for the Educational Resources Information Center)

www.apa.org/ (contains two search engines. Click on the site map and then search.. You will see the two search engines, Bestsearch and Psyccrawler).

Other good search engines: altavista, com, yahoo. com, northernlight. com, snap.com, and mamma. com

Attendance Policy - You are expected to attend all classes. If you are going to miss an exam or an oral presentation, it is your responsibility to notify me beforehand. You will not be allowed to hand in extra credit assignments if you are not in class unless you have a good excuse (e.g., illness, family emergency, representing the College, etc.).

Cheating Policy - Cheating is well defined in the College Catalog and sanctions are specified in the Student Handbook. Cheating includes copying homework, using unauthorized sources during quizzes and exams, copying or accepting answers from classmates, and plagiarizing on writing assignments.

Office Hours - My office is AC-257 (next to the elevator). Office hours are 10:00-10:55 MWF, 1:00-1:55 TTh, and by appointment.